We were really excited because Loot Crate's email told us that our Wizarding World crates were going to get here today (we call them "Harry Potter boxes"), but when we checked outside this morning, we had nothing. Our mailman likes to get things done early, so we were a little bummed, but not pessimistic; we thought maybe he was just getting a late start today.

Later, I was in the bathroom, and Athena and Page were hanging out in the living room, until Page was scared away by someone in a black and purple shirt...carrying exactly one Harry Potter box. And some kind of beverage with a straw. They put the box down at our door and left.

Well that was an unforeseen complication. I did wonder if there might be some trouble what with the two subscriptions and our similar names, but I figured we were paying for two boxes so they'd send two boxes. I didn't expect only one box to be delivered. This was another bummer, because one of the best things about this kind of subscription is getting to be surprised by what's inside, so we couldn't just open the one box, because it would ruin the surprise for the other box.

So we figured we had other things to do anyway, and if the situation didn't improve, we could probably track the packages and report them. But there was no need, because the next time I looked at our patio, there was another box! ...that looked like it was dropped headfirst right inside our gate. Well, whatever, I'm sure Loot Crate understands that packages are not always treated with the best of care, so if there was anything fragile, it was probably well padded.

And that is the uneventful story of our trouble with Harry Potter boxes. We didn't let ourselves open them until we finished our shopping and chores for the day, but when we did, we had some lovely surprises awaiting us!

We were really excited because Loot Crate's email told us that our Wizarding World crates were going to get here today (we call them "Harry Potter boxes"), but when we checked outside this morning, we had nothing. Our mailman likes to get things done early, so we were a little bummed, but not pessimistic; we thought maybe he was just getting a late start today.

Later, I was in the bathroom, and Athena and Page were hanging out in the living room, until Page was scared away by someone in a black and purple shirt...carrying exactly one Harry Potter box. And some kind of beverage with a straw. They put the box down at our door and left.

Well that was an unforeseen complication. I did wonder if there might be some trouble what with the two subscriptions and our similar names, but I figured we were paying for two boxes so they'd send two boxes. I didn't expect only one box to be delivered. This was another bummer, because one of the best things about this kind of subscription is getting to be surprised by what's inside, so we couldn't just open the one box, because it would ruin the surprise for the other box.

So we figured we had other things to do anyway, and if the situation didn't improve, we could probably track the packages and report them. But there was no need, because the next time I looked at our patio, there was another box! ...that looked like it was dropped headfirst right inside our gate. Well, whatever, I'm sure Loot Crate understands that packages are not always treated with the best of care, so if there was anything fragile, it was probably well padded.

And that is the uneventful story of our trouble with Harry Potter boxes. We didn't let ourselves open them until we finished our shopping and chores for the day, but when we did, we had some lovely surprises awaiting us!

<lj-cut="Cut so as not to ruin the surprise for anyone else.">Of course we knew we would get house t-shirts. Oh right, this was the House Pride box, so most of the loot is themed toward your self-selected Hogwarts house. There's no screening process, so if all your friends tell you you're a Ravenclaw and you want to be a Gryffindor, you can get a Gryffindor box--they won't stop you 'slong as you're paying for it. But we went with Ravenclaw anyway, because since the whole "which house are you" debate of...what year was it? Like 2009 or something. Anyway, since then we decided Gryffindors are too arrogant, we have too many scruples to be in Slytherin, and we're too cold and dead inside to be Hufflepuffs. So we figured, since we probably <i>are</i> insufferable know-it-alls, we might as well join them, much as we may be annoyed by other insufferable know-it-alls.

So anyway, we got house t-shirts. They kind of look like the gym shirts that say "property of," only they don't actually say that. That's just the vibe they give. And we got iron-on badges that are pretty cute. Apparently previous crates were presenting horcrux pins...something I don't quite understand. I mean, obviously the Slytherins would think it's cool, but why do they always have to have something dark and edgy? Universal Studios sells Death Eater merchandise, too, and that's always the section that I'm like, "Mmmm, I'll just go...over here, thanks." Anyway, this crate finished the set with one resembling the very last horcrux, and I'll be honest, it's a pretty cool design, even if it is dark and edgy (it's literally quite dark, since it's black, and it's pointy, but fortunately not edgy).

And! there were socks!! Dumbledore said once that you can never have enough socks, and I did kind of agree with him at the time, so I think it's great that there were socks. Two pairs--one for Hogwarts and one for your specific house. They're so cool, I'm trying to think of how we can dress so that people can actually see them. But then I start to think that maybe sometimes socks are meant to be, like, a secret. Like, you could wear these socks with a suit, and totally rock your fandom, but it would be discreet, and you could just be smug in your knowledge that you're wearing totally geeky socks.

And finally, the best of all! A house pocket watch! And it's so pretty! It doesn't look like just a cheap toy pocket watch; it's like legitimate jewelry. Okay, so it's not on the super duper Slytherin-approved fancy side, but it's nice. The cover and the face of the watch are both beautiful! There are just two little tiny problems with it. First, the chain isn't really a pocket watch chain so much as a necklace chain...and it's a really cool chain, too, with a little raven/eagle (the merchandise designers seem to be aware that the <i>name</i> is Ravenclaw but the <i>mascot</i> is an eagle, but...) on it for Ravenclaw. But it's also real pocket watch size, which makes it a bigger pendant than I'm interested in having hang just below my bosoms. So we're going to have to decide what we want to do about that. The other problem is that we haven't figured out how to set it to the correct time. It's actually pretty close to the right time...if we lived on the East Coast. But we don't. So we're going to have to figure that out, too. But anyway, we're super happy to have them!</lj-cut>

So that's our excitement for today. Our sadness is that we ran out of dark chocolate peanut butter. Having chocolate sandwiches for the last week taught us that what we need to help us through our bleak workscape is lots of chocolate. And unfortunately, our regular grocery store doesn't carry the dark chocolate peanut butter. But! we recently discovered mug cake, so we think that will be a great help in the days to come.

Today I'm thankful for getting some pretty awesome Harry Potter loot, Page sitting with me while we watched Erased, finishing our chores, mug cake, and it looking like the t-shirts will probably fit us even though we had to order a size smaller than we thought we needed.